The final verse of “Vande Mataram” echoed through the Lok Bhavan on Monday, but it was the applause that spilled like a storm.
In a move that surprised many, the Congress‑led UDF cabinet swearing‑in pulled the song in its entirety—a tradition usually truncated to avoid the controversial stanza.
“An incorrect step,” blasted a CPI(M) spokesperson, “inappropriate in a pluralistic society.” The party warned that the full rendition could shake the unity the state has built. Meanwhile, a CPI official echoed the sentiment, noting the song’s history of exclusion to preserve secularism.
But here’s the problem: the BJP countered, labeling the Left’s protest an insult aimed at courting radical vote–bank players like Jamaat‑e‑Islami and SDPI. It argued the Congress had slipped into a ring of opportunism.
Truth is, the decision to trim the song dates back to Nehru and Gandhi, who feared the stanza stirred communal thoughts. The left sides up with that legacy, claiming the Congress blames itself for abandoning that caution. The new government clarified it had no hand in the program; the entire event was organized by Lok Bhavan itself.
And yet, the flurry of political fire‑works shows a deeper rift: Who gets to decide what the national anthem should sound like? Will the debate over a single song mirror a wider clash over identity?
